Let The Rain Wash Away My Tears
by Eternal.Angel
Summary: Ryuzaki Sakuno is now nineteen, and has a normal college life. That is, until she meets two men she had both loved once, and the entire process starts over. With one exception... RyoSakuFuji
1. Back Again

Eternal.Angel  
August 1, 2007 to August 3, 2007

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis.  
**Summary:** Ryuzaki Sakuno now enters college, and is doing fairly well being independent. But what happens when two people she respects the most crash into her life? What will be her decision? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

-------------_  
Back Again  
_-------------

* * *

Nineteen-year-old Ryuzaki Sakuno was now attending college, and how she managed to pass English for the first two terms, she did not know at all. Of course, she was doing fairly well in her education, and she had decided to major in Home Economics in order to be the best chef she could be. But as the usual college stuff, there would always be a romantic atmosphere in the air in every place that she would attend to, even if it were as miniscule as…er, whatever was the tiniest thing in the world.

Sakuno was not the little, clumsy girl that used to trip on herself or on the sidewalk nearly everyday. She wasn't weak anymore, because now she stood firm on the tip of her toes. Her hair had been cut short down to the end of her shoulder blades, and she tied up the hair in a loose ponytail. Her eyes were still brown and innocent as ever, and her smile was certainly enchanting to all the guys in the campus.

Sensing this, she sighed heavily as she continued on walking, heading towards the library. She would need to borrow a history reference book for her Social Studies class, which were having a project currently. Sometimes she wondered how Social Studies had anything to do with Home Economics, but of course, it was what she chose as an extra class in order to fill the requirements for the college.

Checking out the book and walking out, she headed back to her dorm, hoping to get something accomplished at home. It was just then, that she exited the building, that the sky turned a dark, grey color, and clouds ganged up to one; a premonition of a storm. She hurriedly made her way through the garden and out of the campus, praying that the rain would not come pouring down on her before she made it home.

It was quite a stormy afternoon, as thunder boomed throughout the entire area of Japan, lightning flashing brightly from time to time. A heavy downpour washed down the suburbs, but it was a good thing that the city did not flood yet. But it would soon, for Sakuno resided in the outskirts of Japan, pretty much near the coastline.

She slammed the large textbook onto her desk after entering the dorm. She shared with a new friend she had made, who was often out for not only college, but also working reasons. Of course, Sakuno worked as well. She was a part-time baker in some popular bakery in the suburbs which people made their way to feast on the wonderful pastries. She was rumored as an honorary and wonderful baker for her skills, which was one of the reasons why she majored in Home Economics.

Flopping onto her spinning chair, she laid back and stared out the window. She urged herself to get started on the load of work she had for her history project, but inside, another part of her refused to do anything. Well, the project was due in a week, and she wanted to get it over with, but…she didn't feel like it. I mean, she had a week. So she could take a day off for today, since all her morning classes were done.

Staring out the window to see the large raindrops plop on the ground with a dangerous reaction, she sighed in boredom. She did not want to work on her history project, and yet she didn't want to do anything else. It was certainly boring.

That is, until her eyes wandered to the grounds of the large building. She noticed two figures entering inside the building, and from the aerial view, they seemed quite suspicious. This building was mostly made for girls, and it seemed that those two persons were…guys? Now this was awfully strange. Most males went to the building next door, because it was made up of guys. And this one for girls.

Never mind that, she was feeling hungry. She stood up from her chair and headed over to the mini refrigerator. Inside was empty, except for a large carton of milk. Sighing, she grabbed her keys and exited the room, locking the door before heading down to the main lobby.

**------------------------------------**

"Ah, Sakura-san, I'll be heading out to get some groceries," signed out Ryuzaki as she scribbled her name on the clipboard. The lady smiled and nodded her head, waving the college student good-bye.

Opening her umbrella and walking through the rain (now that the storm was over), she went to the closest supermarket and purchased vegetables, fish, and some eggs. Lifting three full bags of groceries, she heaved and pulled herself to take a step every minute, and it would seem that her walk home would take about…who knows how long it would take. At her rate, she probably wouldn't make it until the next day. Well, she had to buy this many goods; after all, her friend ate quite a lot after work, where she worked as a babysitter for a daycare, and she would be extra hungry when she came home.

"Mou, this is going to take a long time. And there are no buses around here…" spoke aloud Ryuzaki as she took another step, trying to keep the umbrella on her left hand steady whilst holding a bag and two bags on her right hand.

After what seemed an hour (in reality, ten minutes), she settled herself on a dry bench and sighed in exhaustion. She was halfway back to her dorm, but she felt as if the trip were going to take forever. She hung her head low in shame, reminiscing that she could not complete all the laps assigned when she was in the Girls' Tennis Club. Chuckling warmly to herself, memories of Seishun Gakuen Academy began flooding in her mind.

She remembered when she had first met the Echizen Ryoma in a train, where a bunch of high school guys were nearly chopping her head off with their racket. Of course, he did not realize that she was there, or that she had saved him. And accidentally, she gave him the wrong directions to the tennis competition and was disqualified.

She had developed a crush on him, and tried many times to look nice and proper in front of him, but she ended up tripping and falling like a klutz. She wished that he would notice her at least once, but that wish never came true. She remained unknown to him, and was never noticed at all by him. So she shook him off and moved on, remaining single and growing stronger and stronger each day, until she was finally able to be independent.

Then there was Momoshiro Takeshi, one of Echizen's closest friends and senpai. He and Echizen would go to WacDonalds, the burger joint, and eat lots and lots of burgers and other fast foods. It was a wonder how they would never get fat. But Momoshiro was strong, caring, and funny. He always sighed when he saw the two freshmen together, "Ah…young love…" She would just blush hearing that, and run away from Echizen immediately.

The next senpai she remembered was Kaidoh Kaoru, who always wore a bandana and hissed on a timely basis. Sakuno remembered how she always tried to improve himself, hitting himself when he failed. He trained everyday; she could see when she would take her daily walks in the park, seeing him do strengthening and stretching exercises, and running laps to improve his endurance. Although his face was quite scary, his love for animals covered all that up, and sometimes it was hard to hide that (a scary man liking animals…).

Kikumaru Eiji was the most hyperactive of all the regulars, showing off this tennis with acrobatic style. He always was so cheerful and bounced around happily nonstop. The only time he would be serious is in tennis, when playing doubles with his partner, Oishi, when they're ready to lose and break down. He sometimes joined Echizen and Momoshiro to the burger joint, but mostly spent his time with Fuji Syuusuke, his best friend. He always sided with Momo, teasing her and Echizen about their "young love".

Then there was Oishi Shuichiro, who was named as the "motherly hen of Seigaku". He always worried about others, but he was the fuku-buchou of the tennis club. Although his tennis wasn't flashy and all, he was a good player and was doubles partner to Kikumaru Eiji, the two named as the Golden Pair. He always looked out for his teammates and companions, and was really nice and easygoing.

Another regular Sakuno could remember was Kawamura Takashi. He was one of the strongest players, and he had two personalities. One was shy and interior; while another (when a tennis racket was supposed to be held) was wild and outgoing. His father owned a sushi restaurant, so he made a promise to himself that after high school, he would quit tennis and focus more on making sushi and inheriting the restaurant. Although he had stopped his tennis life after that year, he continued to come and visit the tennis club, checking up on his friends and former teammates.

The female did not forget the Data Man, since she saw him pretty frequently observing her during her tennis practices at times. Inui Sadaharu loved to torture the tennis team with his juices (which only Fuji could stand). He was always writing away in his notebooks, and who knows how many he has by now? Inui observed every little detail, be it important or not, and always looked over his notes to come up with theories, conclusions, and much more. He even offered her a drink once when she was tired after tennis practice, but she politely refused after seeing the male regulars and other members practically dying after drinking the toxic liquid…

There was also the tensai, Fuji Syuusuke. His azure eyes always came to a close, and he showed off his pleasant yet evil smile to nearly everyone. Whenever someone close to him was injured or hurt in a way, his eyes would flicker open, that smile of his would be washed away, and he would be really serious. And yet, somehow, he was able to digest mostly all of Inui's juices. _And secretly_, she thought to herself, _I liked him, but never told him so._

Lastly, there was the stoic captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. He wore spectacles and was really serious about tennis and his life; you could barely see him smile or having fun on the outside (the inside, lots of things go on). His entire life revolves around tennis, and he had already aimed as a professional tennis player in Germany. Now his tennis career is only on a monthly basis, while he spends the rest of his time studying hard in university.

Ryuzaki Sakuno gave out a long sigh as she checked the golden watch tied around her left wrist. Widening her eyes, she closed the umbrella (now the rain had become a light drizzle), gathered the grocery bags and ran back to the dorm.

"Mou, Maya-chan will be back soon and I have to cook dinner!"

She ran as fast as she could while her strap bag bounced against her petite body. She breathed heavily and stopped from time to time, but continued on running, not noticing where she was running to except towards the building. In a rush, she collided into a person and fell onto the ground, thankfully having her raincoat protecting her from the muddy water.

"Itai…" murmured Ryuzaki as she rubbed her hip joint. She opened her eyes to collect the bags but found them missing. _They couldn't have flown that far, could they?_

She stood up from her fallen position by herself and began looking at the ground. All she saw was the rocky surface of the ground. Blinking confusingly, she continued glancing downwards until a voice intervened her search and thoughts.

"Ah, gomen ne, but can you tell me where the tennis racket shop is?"

Turning her attention towards the voice, she widened her eyes again. Looking at the person's arms she saw the three grocery bags and her fallen umbrella. She continued trailing upwards, her eyes slowly scanning the man. At last, her eyes met the face of a smiling male, his eyes closed and a pleasant smile plastered on his face. She covered her mouth with her hands and gasped, "F-fuji-senp-pai?!"

"Ar-e?" said the man whom Ryuzaki identified as 'Fuji-senpai', "Do I know you? And here are your groceries. You look awfully familiar though. Can you tell me where the shop is now please?"

Still in shock, Sakuno shook her head and answered his questions, "One block down and take a right. Third store to your left." She pointed a finger, gesturing the directions to the place that he had requested.

"Arigatou," he thanked politely, and gave the groceries to her, "Here you go. Sorry about that."

"I-ie," she said, turning slightly red. The way he spoke and looked…took her breath away completely. She slapped herself mentally for noticing that.

"Ah," the man said as he stopped in his tracks, "That blushing reminds me of a certain someone…someone like…"

"Ryuzaki?" finished the woman in a questioning tone.

"Saa, then you must be…Ryuzaki Sakuno, Sumire-chan's granddaughter, right?" he asked, smiling at her more than ever.

"Hai, Fuji-senpai!" confidently said Sakuno.

"It's a good thing I bumped into you," he said, chuckling, "Or I would have gotten lost. Or rather you, Ryuzaki-san." She blushed at his teasing, and stuttered to herself to a volume in which he couldn't hear her.

"If you're not busy then, would you mind walking me over to the tennis shop then, Ryuzaki-chan?" requested Fuji. She nodded, answering as a 'yes', and led the way to the shop.

**------------------------------------**

"Thank you for coming, Ryuzaki-chan," thanked Fuji while he carried a small bag of grip tapes while the other held the umbrella.

"Iie," said Sakuno, "But it is a surprise to see you hear, Fuji-senpai. What brings you here to the outskirts of Japan?"

"Oh that," chuckled Fuji, "Well you see, most of the regulars still decided to continue tennis during college and university until they finally get a career and their degree, and luckily we all made it onto the same team, and since we have a tennis competition here soon, we're going to take classes at your college as well." He smiled at his kohai, and she smiled back.

"Souka? So, where are you staying?" asked Sakuno, looking up at the tensai.

"Oh, at a building," he said, "It's a secret though."

She laughed again, covering her mouth in the process. She always found Fuji quite mysterious and funny, since he was always so secretive. And although she did once have a crush for him, it was long gone. She did not want to disturb the tensai, and she was too shy to admit her feelings for him anyway, so she kept it silent to herself. Soon she realized that he had better things than the time for romance, so she decided to move on and grow stronger, learning from the experiences of her earth-shattering crush Echizen Ryoma and the slightly small crush Fuji Syuusuke.

She couldn't even meet up to their standards, so why did she bother? It'd be better off if she just found someone else, or just didn't marry at all.

"Ano," started Sakuno, but was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone. "Gomenasai." Flipping the phone, she read the caller ID before answering it, "Moshi moshi?"

"Hey Sakuno-chan!" greeted her roommate, Nasane Maya.

"Maya-chan!" exclaimed Sakuno, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," replied Maya, "And don't cook dinner for me tonight. I have a meeting late at night and I'm going to stay over at my boyfriend's house."

"Hai."

"Oh, and leave some bento for me on the kitchen table. I'll pick it up tomorrow morning."

"Hai."

"Arigatou, Sakuno-chan! If only I could hug you now…"

"Maya-chan!" exclaimed Sakuno again. Her friend's hugs were suffocating and tightening, just like Eiji-senpai.

"Haha, see you then, Sakuno-chan," said Maya, and she closed the conversation.

"Hai," replied Sakuno, and she closed her phone and stuffed it back into her purse. Fuji looked at her with a curious stare. As if she read his mind, she answered the question he was about to ask.

"That was my roommate, Maya-chan. She's going to stay at her boyfriend's house today, so I'm staying home alone today."

"Hm," said Fuji as he gave his suspicious smile, "It's not safe for a girl like you to stay alone at night in bed."

"Fuji-senpai! I'm nineteen! I can take care of myself," she protested.

"Then at least invite us for dinner?" requested the tensai, leaning in closer to Sakuno. She took a step back before breathing heavily, sighing in defeat.

"Hai, Fuji-senpai," said Sakuno. Fuji smiled, and then she thought of something. "Fuji-senpai, what do you mean by 'us'?"

"Oh that…" he pondered aloud, "You'll see soon." Once again he smiled at her, and led her back to her building, "I'll bring you home and you can tell me the address."

**------------------------------------**

Sakuno was running around crazily in the kitchen. Thanks to the promise she made with Fuji-senpai, she was preparing endless number of dishes, and didn't realize yet the pantry would once again go empty. She cleaned the entire place right after she came home, and the rooms were spick and span, shining brightly as ever. The table was set for two so far, since she didn't know how many extra mouths she would be feeding. But she was pretty sure that ten dishes were enough to feed a crowd.

Slumping on a chair, she wiped her sweaty forehead and tried to relax herself. She was finally done with all the cooking, and her legs were aching from running around back and forth, making sure that everything was perfect. And just when she was about to take a short nap, the doorbell rang, and she complained to herself on the sudden disturbance.

"Hai! I'm coming!" she shouted from the kitchen, and Sakuno reluctantly lagged herself to the entrance and unlocked it, revealing a true crowd of people.

It was her senpai-tachi from the Seigaku Tennis Club…

…and Ryoma-kun.

_This is going to be the greatest dinner yet…or worst…_

* * *

--------  
_Owari_  
--------

**A/N:** My first RyoSakuFuji fic, so please, REVIEW AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! I am stuck right here and don't know what should happen after their dinner. And I am running full of ideas, yet I can't strain myself… Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!

_Eternal.Angel_


	2. Dinnertime

Eternal.Angel  
August 3, 2007 to September 9, 2007

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis.  
**Summary:** Ryuzaki Sakuno now enters college, and is doing fairly well being independent. But what happens when two people she respects the most crash into her life? What will be her decision? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

---------------  
_Dinnertime  
_---------------

* * *

"Senpai-tachi…Ryoma-kun…" said Sakuno, barely audible. She stared at them wide-eyed, blocking the doorway.

"Ryuzaki-chan," said Fuji as he tapped her lightly on the shoulder, "Would you mind?"

"Huh? Oh, yes!" she cried as she moved aside, bowing, "Sorry about that!"

"NYA! Sakuno-chan!" shouted a certain tennis player with glee as he glomped the female tightly. She choked for air as he continued squeezing her. "How I missed you so much, Sakuno-chan!"

"Eiji! You shouldn't greet Ryuzaki-san like that, especially when she offered us dinner!" gently admonished his doubles partner, Oishi. He had a worried look plastered on his face before facing the girl and bowing, "Hello, Ryuzaki-san."

"Ah, Oishi-senpai!" delightfully said Sakuno as she was released from the tight bear hug. She bowed again before staring at the next person who was smiling widely at her.

"Yo, Sakuno-chan!" greeted the former-second year, Momoshiro with a toothy grin as he waved his hand at her. "How are things with Echizen?" Then he winked at her, laughing silently.

"M-momoshiro-senpai!" cried Sakuno as she blushed, looking to the ground. Momo chuckled to himself and murmured, "So young, so young."

"Shut up, Momo-senpai," commanded a deep voice. Sakuno's heart continued to beat faster as she heard the footsteps coming closer.

"Echizen, you shouldn't say that to your senpai!" whined Momo as he crossed his arms, huffing as he shuffled into the room. Another male, slightly shorter than him, wore a white Fila cap with dark-green hair combed neatly. His feline golden-like eyes stared into her chocolate orbs and he tipped his cap in greeting. "Ryuzaki."

"R-ryoma-kun!" stuttered the female as she bowed and watched him follow his senpai to the table an taking a seat. She greeted Tezuka, Kaidoh, Inui, and Kawamura as well before closing the door to her dorm behind her, and she welcomed them with open arms and yet with shyness.

"Senpai-tachi, please wait a little longer for dinner. I need to finish setting up the table…" She said all of that in one breath before scramming to the kitchen, hurrying to check on the food and other things sizzling. Meanwhile, the tennis team took the chance to talk to one another.

"Fuji, how did you find out that Ryuzaki-san was living here?" questioned Inui as he took out his notebook, ready to take down notes.

"That is a secret," answered Fuji as he placed a finger over his mouth, smiling at then. They whimpered in protest, groaning before discussing of other matters.

"Senpai-tachi! Ryoma-kun!" cheerfully called Sakuno as she walked into the room with a tray of different, wonderful smelling dishes, "Dinner is ready!" She set down the dishes and placed the extra plates and eating utensils in front of them as they pulled out their chairs to eat.

"Let's eat!" bellowed all the regulars loudly, for they were really hungry. They had tennis practice a few hours ago, so what could you expect? Tennis players needed their fill in food.

"Ryuzaki-chan, the food is really good!" complimented Taka as he devoured some boneless salmon from his plate, smiling.

"I don't think so…" mumbled Sakuno as she looked down, blushing in happiness at her senpai's praise.

"It was a wonderful meal, Ryuzaki. Thank you," thanked Tezuka stoically as he set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth carefully with the napkin before readjusting his glasses, staring at the female. She nodded her head in acknowledgement, slightly sweat-dropping at her senpai's seriousness.

And for the rest of that night, the regulars cheerfully chattered away into the night, passing the time after dinner. Sakuno meanwhile watched and sat from the corner, eying her senpai-tachi with keen interest as they spoke of many subjects and topics.

**------------------------------------**

"Thank you for coming, senpai-tachi, Ryoma-kun," thanked the female as she bowed low, her braids falling past her shoulders.

"We should be thanking you, Sakuno-chan!" said Momo as he thanked her.

"Fssh…" hissed Kaidoh; his way of thanks.

"Good night then, Ryuzaki-san. Be careful!" warned Oishi worriedly as he headed out the door, with his jumpy doubles partner right behind. Everyone followed suit until Echizen stood outside of the room, leaning on the hallway's wall. Fuji was still in the room with Sakuno as she walked out with him.

"Thank you, Fuji-senpai."

"It was nothing, but that was a really nice dinner, Ryuzaki-chan," he commented, having her blush. "Well, good night Ryuzaki-chan." He gave her a pat on the head and walked out, but she deliberately grabbed his wrist, having him turn back to stare at the girl with slightly widened eyes. She looked at him and turned to the ground, blushing.

"Ano…Fuji-senpai, where do you live exactly?" she asked in a low voice, turning even more red. It was embarrassing to ask such a private and personal question. However, he smiled in return and chuckled.

"Ah, Ryuzaki-chan, I'm sorry for not telling you. But conveniently, I actually live two floors above you. With Echizen as my roommate." Echizen, on the other hand, tipped his white Fila cap down and sighed in exasperation.

"EH?!"

--------  
_Owari_  
--------

* * *

**A/N:** Yes…your dear idiotic author here has so much homework and things to do that she is…at least five pages away from her usual number of pages. T-T The next update…will be in two to four week's time…so sorry… Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou!

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!

_Eternal.Angel_


	3. Step One

Eternal.Angel  
September to December 31, 2007

**Disclaimers:** I do not own any part whatsoever of Prince of Tennis.  
**Summary:** Ryuzaki Sakuno now enters college, and is doing fairly well being independent. But what happens when two people she respects the most crash into her life? What will be her decision? Enjoy! _And don't forget to review please!_

------------  
_Step One  
_------------

* * *

Spring had long arrived, but it hadn't stopped a certain female from working harder than ever. It was the last semester of her first year in college, after all, and she truly wished to do well on her final exams. She had begun preparing for these large tests by composing study guides and reviewing her notes. She would also stay up very late at times in order to memorize the required information as she drank down some bitter liquid of black coffee. This female was none other than Ryuzaki Sakuno, and she hadn't dared to let _anything_ get in her way. 

That is, until her former senpai-tachi came to learn at her college temporarily. Particularly, two people bugged her just by hearing their names.

"Echizen! Come and help me with this heavy luggage!"

She thought she had felt her heart flutter for a moment, but pushing that thought aside, she continued carrying the things into the apartment rooms for her upperclassmen, with the exception of nineteen-year-old Echizen Ryoma and…

"Sakuno-chan, are you alright? You seem to be spacing off," said the taller one, smiling at her as he inched closer to her face. She felt her face flush and incredibly bright red and nodding her head slightly, Ryuzaki slowly walked away from him.

…Fuji Syuusuke.

She just hoped that the next day, the day of returning to her college courses, wouldn't be as half bad as how the rest of the year would turn out to be.

Hopefully.

**------------------------------------**

"Hello? Who is this?" inquired the female as she picked up on her pick cell phone, snapping it open before bringing it to her ear in order to listen to the other side of line.

"Hey, Sakuno-chan!" cried a shrilly voice over the line, "It's Maya!"

"Ah, Maya-chan!" exclaimed Sakuno as she adjusted her phone before listening to her best friend in college again. "How are you?"

"Good," she answered, and then the tone of her voice changed. "Um, Sakuno-chan, there's something I should tell you."

"Hai? What is it?"

"I know this seems abrupt, but I'm moving to my boyfriend's house."

Shock spread throughout her, leaving her mouth agape as she was silent for the moment, a pregnant pause over the phone.

"Ne, Sakuno-chan, are you ok?" inquired her best friend over the phone, and Ryuzaki shook her head and thoughts awake, returning back to the conversation.

"H-hai," she stammered before regaining her voice, "But aren't the dorms here convenient?"

"Well, yes, but my boyfriend's place is much closer to the college campus, and he offered me to stay there with him, so…I accepted…" Maya's voice had a tint of regret in it, the message sent through the phone presenting her voice in a shaky manner.

Sakuno breathed in and out calmly before responding to her friend, "It's ok, Maya-chan. I can live here by myself, so don't worry about it. I'm sure your boyfriend is very important to you, too."

"Hai," said Maya in a playful voice; Sakuno could hear the happiness flowing through her vocal chords again. "Thank you so much, Sakuno-chan! I'll be moving then, in a week's time."

"OK," said Sakuno, nodding her head to herself. "And no problem – that's what friends are for, after all, right?"

"Yup!" cheered the female on the other side of the line. "Talk to you later at the campus then." Maya ended the call, and Sakuno did as well as she disconnected the talk on her cell phone. Looking out the window from her dorm and nervously glancing at the bed opposite of hers, she closed her eyes and sighed. Thinking carefully, she rubbed her temples and murmured to herself meaningless chatter, barely audible. Just how did she wound up in such a bad situation now?

**------------------------------------**

"**All set, Honey?"** asked a male in a deep voice as he ruffled his mate's soft and silky black hair, smiling at her. The woman turned to face him and kissed him lightly on the cheek before nodding her head.

"**She understands now, Mark. So do not worry,"** answered Maya as she slightly stuttered when responding in English. **"Let's go now, OK?"**

Her tall boyfriend nodded his head and kissed her on the forehead and ruffled her hair again before taking her hand, the two of them leaving the man's apartment building. However, he had not come to notice the different state of the woman, her eyes widening in seriousness.

"**OK."**

**------------------------------------**

"Ano…I don't need to be walked to the campus…" she muttered under her breath, but loud enough just for her companions or rather, bodyguards, to hear her.

"Of course you need to be, Ryuzaki-chan!" pumped Momo as he brought a hand to his heart and patted it with pride, "We are always and always going to be your brothers!"

"That's right, Sakuno-chan, nya!" agreed Eiji as he nodded his head and smiled at her. "Besides, I love being near Sakuno-chan!" He glomped her from the back and she nearly fell backwards along with him, but his former doubles partner, Oishi, had caught the two of them just in time. Eiji looked up at him to only see a worried look on his face.

"Eiji, be careful! Ryuzaki, are you alright?" fretted the former mother hen of Seigaku, a tint of anxiety in his eyes.

"I'm fine, Oishi-senpai," answered Sakuno coolly as she carefully and slowly released the grip around her from the hyperactive redhead. "Kikumaru-senpai saved me from the fall, and so did you."

"It was nothing, really."

And after that, for some odd reason, no one wanted to say anything after that. None of the former regulars didn't even bother to ask the timid but independent female anything about the college they were about to enter.

And run as far as they could for the sake of their lives.

**------------------------------------**

"KYA!!!"

The great and loud screams of the many females in the main corridor of the first floor rampaged and rushed over madly to the eye of the crowd, attracting every single female that was enrolled in the college. Even some of the boys were arching their brows before strolling along calmly to see what was going on. Several teachers wandered around the crowd, hoping to break everyone up and have the students return to their classes.

"Return to your classes now!" demanded the teachers as they broke up some of the students from sabotaging and running over the main spotlight. However, most of the women remained, screaming their heads off and having nosebleeds by just taking one peek at them.

"…this…is…annoying…" muttered Echizen under his breath as he sighed a very long sigh.

"Saa, but you can't help it. We are the strongest tennis players in all of Japan, and we're going to have some new visitors coming by," explained Fuji with a smile.

"Nya, but why do we still have to go to college?" questioned Eiji as he cocked his head to the side, clinging on to Oishi and never letting go as if his life depended on it.

"We are still college kids, after all," Oishi spoke up as the nine boys finally got away from the crazy fangirls. It tired them quite a bit. "It may be tiring, but I'm sure that we'll be okay with it."

"I think Ryuzaki-chan is having a hard time though," wondered aloud Momo, "Because she knows us personally, I think all the girls in her class will ask her to do stuff for them."

"Then we will have to help her, right?" voiced a female voice, and immediately all the boys sprang away from it, cautious of their surroundings and hoping that they wouldn't get run over. However, it was a calm female, and her eyes were shining rather seriously when approaching them.

"The name is Maya – I'm Sakuno-chan's friend," she introduced herself, bowing. "I'm sure Sakuno-chan will have a hard time, so why don't we all help her out? She'll need the help, for sure." Then the girl walked away, waving a hand to the males before heading off to class. The bell had just rung, after all.

"…that was short, fsshhh…"

"Eighty percent that she isn't lying," hypothesized Inui as he scribbled in his notebook, "And one hundred percent that we have to help Ryuzaki-san."

After hearing Inui's prediction, all of them headed off to their separate classes. Echizen, particularly, was supposed to be in all of Sakuno's classes, so that was easy to follow. She was used to the place, after all. _One hundred percent, huh? Ryuzaki-sensei did ask to protect her since she couldn't, after all…_

--------  
_Owari_  
--------

* * *

**A/N:** I am the most unfaithful author here on Earth, and I wrote yet another short chapter…BUT I PROMISE THE NEXT ONE WILL BE LONGER! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! T-T (And Happy New Year…) Please review and give me any feedback! I am very happy to be criticized because there is always room for improvement. Arigatou! 

Ja ne, and I do not own any part of Prince of Tennis!

_Eternal.Angel_


End file.
